Meet Adriana Jimenez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adriana Jimenez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Adriana, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I was raised in a family surrounded by addiction. My parents never married, but we were this big, blended family of step-parents, half-siblings, and an overwhelming amount of love. It wasn’t the stereotypical movie version of addiction; my dad just happened to be a drug dealer, a functioning addict who, to me, was simply a businessman from as far back as I can remember.

I lived in 2 drastically different worlds. In Home 1, it was a 24-hour quick stop, or so that’s what it became into my teen years, it was a rollercoaster ride of “having it all” followed by dramatic loss. There were faced evictions, stays with family, or brief hotel stays. With a supporting cast of wild, interesting characters breezing through. Laughter was medicine and family was everything. Dad taught me strength, hustle, and tenacity. He taught me respect.

In Home 2, my mom prioritized stability. She struggled to make ends meet, all while navigating her inner battles. Back when marijuana was still illegal, selling it became her primary way to survive—not out of greed but simply to get by. She’s still that stoned, hippy soul whispering wisdom, sprinkled with her hilarious comebacks. She taught me how to be resourceful, how to live independent, and what home truly felt like. Mom taught me softness and true acceptance.

Honestly, it amazes me to see how far both of my parents have come and how their journeys shaped who I am today. Looking back, I can see how this upbringing pushed me into hyper-responsibility, people-pleasing, and that anxious need to always be ready for what was coming next.

I was constantly one step ahead of the adults, anticipating their moves, predicting behaviors, and figuring out outcomes. While they were living their lives, we were along for the ride, and often it was thrilling, but not without its limits. Emotional immaturity was the norm, but even as a young empathic child, I had compassion for the emotional baggage they didn’t have the coping skills to carry. I see it now for what it was babies raising babies: adults carrying their own unresolved inner child, stuck in their survival. I became the nurturer in my family—the problem solver, the one everyone depended on. That role became my identity with friends, too. I prided myself on always putting others first, and somewhere along the way, my self-sacrifice became an expectation. I raised my siblings, myself, and, in many ways, my parents.

But it wasn’t until 35 that I had my true soul awakening, one that finally broke me down and forced me to confront where I’d lost myself. It brought me to my knees, catalyzing deep inner growth and teaching me the depths of whole-self love.

Addiction kept cycling through my life but so did stories of recovery and resilience. Over the decades, I witnessed my family heal from years of self-abuse and evolve into people who now selflessly give back to their communities. The same cycles showed up in my friendships and relationships. I lost friends to addiction and tried to save them all. I ended up loving an addict for a decade. Classic daddy issues, right? Sprinkle in a savior complex, and you get the “maybe I can fix him since I couldn’t fix my dad” mindset. “Maybe he’ll love ME enough to change.” It fed my ego and self-worth, but you learn the hard way—it’s not about you. It’s never about you. There’s something much deeper going on, and that realization sparked my inner excavation. I needed to understand how deep trauma runs, and how trauma bonding becomes a mask we use to avoid facing ourselves in the mirror.

Other dark nights followed. I lost my first child to a rare disease which spiraled into major depression. But I bounced back. I married a man who still makes me swoon after 18 years, and we had two incredible kids. But still, one last cycle of addiction crept back into my family. This time, I masked my pain through postpartum depression, crippling anxiety, agoraphobia, and intrusive thoughts that led to suicidal ideation, and a C-PTSD designation. The crazy part? On the outside, no one knew. Inside, I was silently suffering, doing what I’d always done—ignoring my own needs, solving everyone else’s problems, and pretending everything was fine for the sake of the family. I was surviving under the weight of a mask of strength.

Here’s the thing about strength—it’s a complicated relationship.

I’ve heard my entire life, “You are SO strong,” “You’ve been through so much.” And sure, it’s moving to know I’ve inspired others, strength was never a choice for me. It was survival. My strength came flawed. I wore it like a badge of honor, with arrogance and a warrior spirit, convinced I’d never be handed more than I could handle. And I wasn’t… until the weight of strength became so heavy, it was unbearable.

I had to lose myself to truly love myself, radically and unapologetically. I had to get real with myself, to take radical responsibility for my own suffering so that I could finally allow myself to RECEIVE the pleasure and prosperity life had to offer. I had to embrace my darkness to alchemize my light. My greatest teachers? Contrast and duality. I needed to experience the polarities of life to fully appreciate the beauty of the journey.

I had to lose pieces of myself to find each one again and put them back together in wholeness.

I stopped running from my fears and started walking towards them. I learned that our shadow selves hold immense wisdom, and we can use that wisdom to alchemize the beauty of dark moments to shape us into bolder, more resilient individuals. That’s how you unleash the embodied, resilient leader within you.

Every experience—the good, the weird, the messy—those moments that continuously knocked me down, they all carried deeper lessons, boundaries, and blessings. True resilience isn’t about what happens to us but what we take from those experiences and how they reshape our story. There were silver linings in all of it, buried like treasure, waiting to bring me back home to myself—the version of me that existed before all the conditions, expectations, and stories, but who has now integrated those lessons and guides others on the path to embracing their own adversity and shadowy selves.

Resilience is alchemy. It’s the ability to transmute and transform the trajectory of your life.

I am grateful for every experience. Why? Because I love me. I love every version of me that came before this 44-year-old self, and I am damn proud of who she’s becoming because it’s rooted in the deepest acceptance and love.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I believe with every fiber of my being that our outer world is a mirror of our inner relationship. When you truly come home to self-love—embracing ALL parts of you, without guilt, shame, or judgment—that inner love unlocks the real you. Your quirky, authentic, sensual self shines through, and that energy ripples out into every aspect of your life—your relationships, your business, everything.

This is how I guide my clients—through embodied connection, which allows them to fully feel and transmute past experiences, and shadow integration, where we bring the unconscious to light and accept every piece of who they are. My secret? I’m a visionary who can see what others often miss. I have the unique ability to zoom out, identify blind spots, and view the whole person from a bird’s-eye perspective.

For over 20 years, I’ve harnessed this gift as a professional trainer, personal development and business improvement analyst, business owner, and mentor for women on their soul-driven journeys. Coaching and empowering women is my life’s work, and I take immense pride in leading hundreds each week as they uncover their deeper soul purpose and step into their most empowered, sensual era of leadership and life. With exciting new free events and classes launching, now is the perfect time to join me on this journey—follow along on IG @adriana.moonflower.sol!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

POV: Our Mental Health Epidemic is really a DISCONNECTION Epidemic
Through my own journey and my work with others, it’s become abundantly clear: we are deeply disconnected—from our bodies, our environments, and our innermost desires. In today’s fast-paced, instant-gratification world, society often struggles to sit still or be alone with its thoughts. This ongoing disconnection is taking a toll on our well-being.

Your body craves nature, community, and connection to your passions, creativity, and unique essence. Explore what truly recharges you, and prioritize it. For me, it’s the soul-deep stillness of the Big Sur Redwoods, the joy of playing with bubbles, and playing with fire while dancing. So, find your thing, and do more of that!

POV: Less Suppression, More Expression!
Let’s be real—chances are, at some point, you’ve been shamed for crying, or for the way you dance, sing, or just express yourself. And what happens? You start holding back, repressing your true self, dimming your light. When you move through life bottling up your emotions, pushing down your truth, it’s like living in a constant pressure-cooker. That internal buildup happens when you’re too afraid to speak up or show up as your authentic self.

Here’s the truth: your body is meant to *FEEL*—This is where embodiment comes in. Sit with the waves of emotion that roll through—anger, sadness, frustration, fear, anxiousness. These emotions aren’t “bad.” They are signals pointing to something deeper, asking for your attention. When you ignore them, they just get louder, demanding to be felt. So lean the hell in! Give yourself the sacred space to *feel* your experiences—past and present—and honor the wisdom your body holds. It’s in fully processing and embracing your emotions that you unlock your true embodied power.

POV: You Can Only Love to The Capacity You Love Yourself
This can be triggering but TRIGGERS ARE MEDICINE—so let yourself get uncomfortable if needed. Your capacity to create, to love romantically, to grow wealth, to amplify your business, etc. can only grow to the extent that you can see. It can only grow to the extent that you feel WORTHY, or in which you love yourself. Think back to the ripple effect… it all starts inside. So if you’re in cycles of toxic relationships, self-sabotage, procrastination, or unwanted patterns, it’s time to do the inner work and get in touch with the root of the symptoms. Depending on where you are in your healing journey, you may be ready to pursue shadow work, which is where I step in.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Full Disclosure: This Book is Not for Beginners!

I’ve always loved reading personal development books, they constantly push my boundaries and expand my perceptions. But out of all the books I’ve read, *Existential Kink* by Carolyn Elliott, PhD, stands out as one of my all-time favorites. It’s filled with deep wisdom and transformative practices that I share with my more advanced clients—those who’ve moved beyond the “love and light” stage of awakening and are ready to embrace their dark femme. This book digs into where we’re unconsciously bonded to our limiting beliefs, the taboo, the shameful, and the rejected parts of ourselves. It helps us see how we often “get off” on the comfort of our excuses, unhealthy relationships, and inner stories.

What I love most is how this book amplifies our relationship with “guilty pleasures,” bringing awareness and mindfulness to those shadowy corners of our psyche.

I often see soul-driven business leaders complain about their identity, title, or messaging. They say things like, “If I only did ___, my business would take off,” but deep down, they secretly love having that excuse. It’s another mask to hide behind, rather than showing up fully, letting themselves be seen and heard. Why? Fear of rejection, fear of judgment… the list goes on. On the surface, they might hate their situation, but there’s a subconscious thrill in the protection it offers.

When you start working with your kinky subconscious, you begin to spot your own B.S. so quickly that you can call yourself out, integrate your shadows with less resistance, and accept yourself with more honest compassion, radical awareness, and sensual grace.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moonflowerandsol.com
• Instagram: adriana.moonflower.sol